Ukraine will retain representatives of the government and parliament as part of the Minsk Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) even if Russia does not make a similar decision, head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak told reporters on Thursday.

"This is our sovereign right. We have taken the first step. If there are no reciprocal steps, we will work as part of this delegation," he said.

"We believe that we need this and our position will be proactive," Yermak added, while acknowledging that this step of Ukraine "is not a 100 percent panacea."

He recalled that "the Russian delegation insists that certain decisions be determined by a protocol," noting that this cannot be implemented without the presence of government officials on the other part.

"Ukraine will be a proactive side in these negotiations. At the next meeting in Minsk, the Ukrainian side will be represented as invited representatives of the territories - displaced people, those who are forced to live outside Donbas," the head of the Presidential Office said.

According to Yermak, the possibility of holding local elections in the occupied territories in October 2020 will be determined proceeding from the fact that all conditions are created for this at the beginning of the election process. According to Ukrainian law, the election process in local elections begins 90 days before the date of their holding.